Ryan Dixon's Column

With his tenure getting progressively shorter at each stop, it might be time for 'Hitch' to reevaluate his methods beyond the X's and O's. Ken Hitchcock’s shelf life is getting shorter.
Hitchcock is recognized league-wide as one of the game’s true tacticians, an American Civil War buff whose soul is tickled by endless strategizing.

The captain of the upstart California squad is learning from a veteran teammate that sometimes it's better to be crafty than brawny. The hockey world has become much more sensitive to the manner in which hits get dolled out over the past few seasons, but we should try to remember there’s two sides to every slam.

How much are Pouliot and Latendresse worth?; second Canadian Olympic team a non-issue; and should goalies be fair game? A hat trick of thoughts on a hectic Thursday that sees all but four NHL teams in action.
• The respective front offices in Montreal and Minnesota must be doing cartwheels on the heels of what is shaping up to be the most mutually beneficial trade we’ve seen in a while, Guillaume Latendresse for Benoit Pouliot.

Despite being in the playoff hunt, GM Bryan Murray would be wise to trade his assets with an eye towards the future. It’s easy to dump on a team that has lost five straight games – by a combined score of 22-5, no less – as the Ottawa Senators have entering Thursday night’s tilt versus the New York Rangers.

Henrik Lundqvist and Marian Gaborik are the obvious stars for the Rangers, but Sean Avery showed he can help take the weight off their shoulders. Does any team in the league have three more diverse drivers than the New York Rangers?
No single player can – or at least should – be expected to carry a team all by his lonesome for an entire NHL year.

Hometown Boston girl Annie Hogan and her teammates at Northeastern will take part in the college version of the Winter Classic at Fenway Jan. 8. Annie Hogan is about to play the game of her life on the most exotic neighborhood rink you’ll ever find.
This Friday, Hogan and her Northeastern Huskies teammates will clash with the New Hampshire Wildcats in a Winter Classic encore at Fenway Park in Boston.

For a team with so little to cheer about over the past decade, the play this year from Nathan Horton and Stephen Weiss gives Florida fans a reason to smile. Peter DeBoer likely isn’t the first Florida coach who felt like he was herding Cats, trying to get the most out of Stephen Weiss and Nathan Horton.

Toronto GM Brian Burke must decide whether to keep his roster intact for a 2010 playoff run or deal away assets with an eye towards the future. Typically, when a team has the second-fewest points in the league through more than a third of the season, its fans and management are of two minds.

A secondary scorer who will ask for a hefty raise, Washington should look at trading Alexander Semin or else they will start having issues with the salary cap. Whether it’s Thursday night against Florida or another game in the near future, Alexander Semin’s return to the Washington Capitals lineup from a wrist injury is imminent.

On the day those on the southern side of the 49th give thanks, we look at one thing each of the NHL's 30 clubs should be grateful for. I have to admit, we Canadians probably get the big part of the wishbone when it comes to this whole two-Thanksgivings-for-one-continent deal.

A season removed from injury troubles and a disappointing finish, Brad Richards is back playing like the Conn Smythe winner he once was. When you think about it, Brad Richards’ two homes couldn’t be more diametrically opposed.
Certainly, the NHL is packed with stories of small-town Canadian boys making it big under the bright lights of the city.

Halak has the better record, but Price has the statement wins and is the supposed goalie of the future. In the interest of integrity and honesty, I’ll state now that the comb I’ll use to sift through the Montreal Canadiens’ goaltending situation will not be nearly as fine-toothed as the one employed by Chris Boyle in a hyper-detailed breakdown of the Carey Price/Jaroslav Halak dynamic.